Systems and methods for visual presentation and selection of IVR menu

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the invention provide an enhanced telephone system. The telephone system comprises means for comparing a dialed phone number to a database and displaying a menu comprising menu options based on the comparison. The telephone system also comprises a touch sensitive screen. The touch screen provides activation of the menu options by touch.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system andmore specifically the invention relates to visual selection of IVRoption from a caller device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Interactive Voice Response (IVR) technology is generally used to detectvoice and key inputs from a caller. Various organizations such as banks,insurance companies, and other service providers use IVR technology tomanage calls from their customers. Typically, IVR systems are used byorganizations that have high call volumes. An objective for implementingthe IVR systems is to provide the customers with a quick and goodexperience. Moreover, the cost of providing the services is reduced.

Generally, when the caller calls a destination, such as a bank, anautomated audio menu is played. The audio IVR menu can containinstructions to provide instant services such as account balance inquirywhen the destination is a bank. Further, audio menu can provide optionsfor the caller to connect to a desired end inside the destination. Forexample, the menu may direct the caller to press various keys on atelephone to connect to a particular department or agent. The audio IVRmenu is designed specific to a destination. Therefore, each destinationor organization may have different IVR menus. Further, the IVR menu inan organization can be based on the type of departments, type ofservices, customer care executives or agents and so forth. For example,an IVR menu of a bank may include options related to the account detailsof the caller, while an IVR menu of a pizzeria may contain options toorder or select a pizza.

Typically, the caller calling the destination may have to listen andfollow instructions on the menu to get a desired response or a functionperformed. Therefore, the process can be time consuming. Moreover, incase the caller provides an incorrect input, the complete process mayhave to be repeated. Furthermore, the IVR menu for an organization maybe updated or changed regularly. For example, extension numbers insidean organization may be changed and correspondingly, the extensionnumbers associated with the IVR menu may be updated. As a result, afrequent caller may not be able to reach a desired end by remembering acombination of numbers. Therefore, the caller may become frustrated withthe IVR systems.

Some prior art try to address this problem by providing visual form ofIVR. These prior arts display the IVR menu graphically on a callerdevice. U.S. Pat. No. 7,215,743 assigned to International BusinessMachines Corporation and a published U.S. patent application with Ser.No. 11/957,605 assigned to Motorola Inc., provides the IVR menu of thedestination in a visual form to the caller. The caller can select theoptions from the IVR menu without listening to the complete audio IVRmenu. However, the IVR menu displayed on the caller device is stored onan IVR server at the destination end. As a result, the visual IVR menuis specific to the destination and only the IVR of the destinationdialed is displayed. These techniques therefore, require eachdestination to set-up hardware, software and other facilities to bedeployed for providing visual IVR servers.

Another existing technique as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,560,320assigned to International Business Machines Corporation enables anoperator of the IVR to send customized signals to the caller forgenerating and displaying graphical elements on the device of thecaller. Thereafter, the caller can respond by selecting options throughtouch-screen interface of the device. Dual Tone Multi frequency (DTMF)signals of the IVR. However, this technique requires a specificallyconfigured device to interpret the codes sent as Dual Tone Multifrequency (DTMF) signals for generating the graphics. Moreover, anoperator is required to present the graphics to the caller. Furthermore,specialized software and hardware are required at the operator to designand generate DTMF codes. Therefore, the technique faces variouspractical limitations.

Generally, the IVR menus of the organizations are in form of audiblemenu. Moreover, there are a large number of organizations that use IVRmenus. Therefore, converting the audible menus to visual menus can betime consuming. An existing technique, as discloses in U.S. Pat. No.6,920,425 assigned to Nortel Networks Limited, discloses an automatedscript to convert the audible menus scripts to visual menu scripts.However, the audible menus scripts must be available in a particularformat to enable the conversion. Furthermore, the audio menu scriptsmust be available or downloadable for the program to function. As aresult, only the audio menus scripts that are available can be convertedto visual menu scripts. Furthermore, the device of the caller must bedesigned or programmed to understand the visual menu scripts.

Various organizations encourage the customers to call them forinformation on their products or services, or for helping existingcustomers. Generally, a contact number is provided by the organizationson their website as a button. Therefore, when the customer presses thebutton a form is displayed. The customer then enters his contact numberwhere an executive from the organization may call. However, this may betime consuming for the customer. Moreover, the customer may be not beingable to talk to another executive during the call in case the on-lineexecutive is not able to satisfy the customer. U.S. patent applicationwith Ser. No. 12/049,021 assigned to Harprit Singh, provides methods andsystems for displaying an IVR menu, when the caller clicks a link on awebpage provided by the organization. However, the customer is stillrequired to request the webpage with embedded information from a serverof the organization. Moreover, the methods and systems are limited tothe organizations that provide the required webpage to the customers.

The effectiveness of providing the IVR in visual form is discussed in atechnical paper titled, The Benefits of Augmenting Telephone Voice MenuNavigation with Visual Browsing and Search′ by Min Yin et al. The paperdiscusses a setup where visual content of the IVR is sent from a serviceprovider to a computer connected to a mobile phone. However, thetechnique discussed in the paper is limited to the visual contentprovided by the service provider's end, after the connection isestablished. Moreover, the providers are required to individually set upthe hardware and services for providing visual content.

As discussed above the existing technologies have various limitations.

SUMMARY

An aspect of the invention is to provide to a caller using a device avisual menu corresponding to an audible IVR menu of a destination.

Another aspect of the invention is to enable the caller to directlyinteract with the visual menu without listening to the audible IVR menuof the destination.

Yet another aspect of the invention is to provide the visual menu to thecaller before establishing a connection of the device with thedestination.

Another aspect of the invention is to enable the caller to interact withthe visual menu by using a touch sensitive screen of the device.

Another aspect of the invention is to provide advertisements related tothe destination or function of the destination dialed by the caller.

A caller may dial or select a phone number from a device of adestination. The phone number is detected by Visuphone implemented onthe device to display a visual menu corresponding to the audible IVRmenu of the destination. Visuphone may be hardware, an applicationstored as a software or firmware on the device, or a combinationthereof. Visuphone may include a database of visual menus correspondingto audible IVR menus for various destinations. Thereafter, the callermay interact with the visual menu displayed on the device to establish aconnection with the destination. Furthermore, Visuphone may detect andlaunch a VOIP application for establishing the connection. Moreover,Visuphone may provide pre-recorded or computer synthesized audioresponses on behalf of the caller to the destination.

An enhanced telephone system is provided. The telephone system comprisesa database that comprises one or more phone numbers and one or moremenus corresponding to the phone numbers, wherein the menus comprise oneor more options for selection. The telephone system comprises means forcomparing a dialed number to the phone numbers in the database; meansfor displaying a menu based on a result of the comparison; means forenabling selection of the one or more options from the displayed menu;and means for establishing a connection with a destination of the dialednumber based on the selection of the one or more options.

An enhanced telephone system is provided. The telephone system comprisesa database comprising one or more phone numbers and one or more menuscorresponding to the phone numbers, wherein the menus comprises one ormore options for selection; means for comparing the a received number ofa received call to the phone numbers in the database; means fordisplaying a menu based on a result of the comparison; and means forenabling selection of the one or more options from the displayed menu.

A method for providing enhanced telephony is also provided. The methodcomprising identifying a number dialed from a telephone system;comparing the dialed number to one or more phone numbers stored in adatabase, wherein the database comprises one or more menus correspondingto the phone numbers, and wherein the menus comprises one or moreoptions for selection; and displaying on the telephone system a menufrom the database based on a result of the comparison.

Another aspect of the invention is to generate a database of visualmenus. The data base generation could be done by successive calling theIVR and combined with voice recognition.

Another aspect of the invention is to provide updates to the visualmenus stored in the device.

Another aspect of the invention is to provide the visual menu when thecall is forwarded from one destination to another.

Another aspect of the invention is to provide visual menus on electronicdevices with screens that are connected to Visuphone.

Additional aspect of the invention is an automatic learning of userchoice and uses that for assisting the user in his future calls.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Having thus described the invention in general terms, reference will nowbe made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn toscale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 a illustrates an exemplary environment where various embodimentsof the invention function;

FIG. 1 b illustrates another exemplary environment where variousembodiments of the invention function;

FIG. 1 c illustrates yet another exemplary environment where variousembodiments of the invention function;

FIG. 2A illustrates an exemplary audible Interactive Voice Response(IVR) menu at a destination;

FIG. 2B illustrates an exemplary visual menu at a device correspondingto the audible IVR menu of the destination;

FIG. 2C illustrate an exemplary visual menu that display graphics foreach option;

FIG. 3 illustrates exemplary components of the device for implementing aVisuphone, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary display of the visual menu on thedevice, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates exemplary components of the device for implementingthe Visuphone, in accordance with another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary display of the visual menu on thedevice, in accordance with another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 illustrates a webpage displayed on the device that may be used toinitiate a connection to the destination, in accordance with anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary software architecture of Visuphone, inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 9 illustrates exemplary components of the Visuphone, in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary remote server for storing informationrequired by the Visuphone, in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 11 illustrates presentation of a visual menu in case of callforwarding, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 12 illustrates the presentation of the visual menu when a phoneconnection is associated with a wide band internet ‘smart’ modem;

FIG. 13 illustrates the presentation of the visual menu when a telephoneconnection is established through an external telephone service by usinga computer;

FIGS. 14A, 14B, and 14C illustrate a Visu-add-on that provides thefeatures and functionality of the Visuphone;

FIGS. 15A, 15B, and 15C illustrate a flowchart diagram for presentation,selection and update of visual menus, in accordance with an embodimentof the invention; and

FIG. 16 illustrates a flowchart diagram for creating a database forvisual menus, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Illustrative embodiments of the invention now will be described morefully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in whichsome, but not all embodiments of the invention are shown. Indeed, theinvention may be embodied in many different forms and should not beconstrued as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, theseembodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicablelegal requirements. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

FIG. 1 a illustrates an exemplary environment where various embodimentsof the invention function. A caller 106 may use a device 102 a toconnect to destinations 108 a-n. Device 102 a can be a telecommunicationdevice that can connect directly to a Public Switched Telephone Network(PSTN) 110. A person skilled in the art will appreciate, that device 102a can also connect to a private telephone exchange. Examples of device102 a include, but not limited to, a telephone, a mobile phone, aSmartphone or any other device capable of voice or data communication.When caller 106 dials a phone number and connects to any destinationfrom destinations 108 a-n, an audible Interactive Voice Response (IVR)menu may be played to caller 106. Each of destinations 108 a-n can havedifferent IVR menus. For example, IVR menus of bank may be completelydifferent from that of a hospital. Typically, the audible IVR menuprovided by destinations 108 a-n comprises audible options orinstructions. Caller 106 may be required to select various options fromthe audible IVR menu to obtain the required information or service fromthe dialed destination. Various types of destinations 108 a-n thatimplement the audible IVR menu include, for example, banks, hotels,fast-food outlets, utility services providers, corporate offices and soforth. Device 102 a includes a Visuphone 104 that displays a visual menuon device 102 a corresponding to the audible IVR menu based on a phonenumber of the destination to be connected. Visuphone 104 may behardware, an application stored as software, a firmware on device 102 a,or a combination thereof. Thereafter, caller 106 can select the optionsof the audible IVR menu from the visual display without the requirementto listen to the audible instructions. Exemplary audible IVR menu atdestination 108 a and a corresponding visual menu are explained indetail in conjunction with FIGS. 2A and 2B.

FIG. 1 b illustrates another exemplary environment where variousembodiments of the invention function. As shown, device 102 b can be adevice that can be connected directly to a network 112. Examples ofdevice 102 b include, but are not limited to, a personal computer, alaptop, a mobile phone, a smart-phone, a fixed line telephone, VoiceOver Internet Protocol (VOIP) phone or other devices capable of voice ordata communication. Device 102 b may include various applications orcomputer programs that enable caller 106 to use device 102 b forconnecting to destinations 108 a-n through PSTN 110 over network 112.For example, the applications may be VOIP applications, such as but notlimited to, Skype, Magic Jack, Google Talk and so forth. A gateway 116provides interconnection between PSTN 110 and network 112. Examples ofnetwork 112 include any wired or wireless network, such as but notlimited to, a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), aWi-fi network and so forth. As discussed with reference to FIG. 1 a,destinations 108 a-n presents the audible IVR to caller 106. Device 102b includes Visuphone 104 b that displays a visual menu on device 102 bcorresponding to the audible IVR menu based on a phone number of thedestination to be connected.

FIG. 1 c illustrates yet another exemplary environment where variousembodiments of the invention function. As shown, device 102 b can beconnected to PSTN 110 through network 112 or through the cellularnetwork 111. Various service providers provide multiple or overlappingservices to customers. For example, cable television service providermay also provide phone and Internet service, optical Internet providermay also provide phone or television services, WiMax service providersthat provide phone service and so forth. Network 112 may be any serviceprovider that provides such services, for example, but not limited to,cell phone services, wireless services, Internet services, cabletelevision services, or various combinations of the above or other typeof services. As discussed with reference to FIG. 1 a, destinations 108a-n presents the audible IVR to caller 106. Device 102 b includesVisuphone 104 that displays a visual menu on device 102 b correspondingto the audible IVR menu based on a phone number of the destination to beconnected.

With reference to FIG. 2A, an audible IVR menu 222 a at destination 108a is illustrated. A person skilled in the art will appreciate thataudible IVR menu 222 a is an exemplary graphical representation of theaudible instructions presented by destination 108 a for the sake ofexplanation and is not an actual graphical display. For explanation,assuming that destination 108 a is a pizzeria that provides homedelivery and takes away services. Caller 106 connects to destination 108a by dialing a board phone number 202 a. Subsequently, various optionsof audible IVR menu 222 a are played to caller 106. The various optionsinclude an option 204 a that plays an audible instruction, “press 2 forpizza order”, an option 206 a that plays an audible instruction, “press3 for order status”, an option 220 a that plays an audible instruction,“press 0 for main menu”. Caller 106 can select an option by pressingfrom device 102, a button corresponding to the instructions in theaudible IVR menu. Subsequently, the selected options are transmitted tothe destination and the menu is advanced if there are any furtheroptions. Alternatively the display can present the next layer of menuoptions to give the user better view of the option domain and allow evenfaster interface between user and the IVR.

For example, selection of option 204 a presents an option 208 a thatplays an audible instruction, “press 1 for veg” and an option 210 a thatplays an audible instruction, “press 2 for non-veg” is played.Similarly, selecting option 208 a or 210 a presents or option 214 a thatplays an audible instruction, “press 1 for home delivery”, an option 216a that plays an audible instruction, “press 2 for take away”. Similarly,selection of option 206 a presents an option 212 a that plays an audibleinstruction, “press 1 to talk to an executive”.

Options 204 a, 206 a, 208 a, 210 a, 212 a, 214 a, and 216 a are part ofa main menu 218 a. Main menu 218 a can be repeated by selecting option220 a by caller 106. Caller 106 may repeat main menu 218 a for example,in case of a mistake in selection. Therefore, caller 106 directlyinteracting with audible IVR menu 222 a may be required to listen to allor various audible options before executing a desired action. However,the interaction is simplified by Visuphone 104, that presents a visualmenu 222 b to caller 106 corresponding to audible IVR menu 222 a, asexplained with reference to FIG. 2B.

As shown in FIG. 2B, visual menu 222 b is displayed on a screen ofdevice 102 b that may connects to destination 108 a through network 112and the PSTN 110. Visual menu 222 b can be displayed before a connectionis established with destination 108 a. A person skilled in the art willappreciate that device 102 b is illustrated for the sake of explanation,and similar visual menu 222 b can be displayed on device 102 a thatconnects to destination 108 a directly through PSTN 110. Visual menu 222b includes various nodes corresponding to the options of an audible IVRmenu of destination 108 a. The various nodes of visual menu 222 binclude a node 202 b for connecting to board number 202 a of destination108 a. Similarly, nodes 204 b, 206 b, 208 b, 210 b, 212 b, 216 bcorresponds to option 204 a, 206 a, 208 a, 210 a, 212 a, 216 arespectively. A node corresponding to option 220 a may not be requiredin visual menu 222 b, as the complete menu is visible and caller 106 maynot be required to repeat audible IVR menu 222 a. Therefore, when caller106 selects a node from visual menu 222 b, Visuphone 104 automaticallytransmits the desired action corresponding to the options in audible IVRmenu 222 a to destination 108 a. For example, assuming that caller 106calls destination 108 a to order a veg pizza for home delivery. In thiscase, caller 106 directly selects nodes 208 b and 214 b from a touchscreen of device 102 a, corresponding to veg pizza and home deliveryfrom visual menu 222 b. Alternatively, caller 106 directly selects nodes204 b, 208 b and 214 b by pressing corresponding keys ‘2’, ‘1’, and ‘1’,from a keypad or screen of device 102 a without a need to listen to thecomplete audible IVR menu. Visuphone 104 accordingly transmits thesignals to audible IVR menu 222 a. In this case, the signals required byaudible IVR menu 222 a may be the Dual Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF) tonesof ‘2’, ‘2’, and ‘1’ for options 204 a, 208 a, and 214 a. Moreover,caller 106 may not be required to select all the options. For example,when caller 106 wants to order a veg-pizza for take away. Then, only thenodes 208 b and 216 b may be required to be selected, and node 204 b isautomatically understood by Visuphone 104 b. Furthermore, a node that isnecessary for a transaction is automatically highlighted. For example,if caller 106 only selects node 216 b for take away, then node 208 b fora veg-pizza or node 210 b for non-veg are highlighted for selection. Inan embodiment of the invention, caller 106 may select nodes irrespectiveof the sequence presented in the audible IVR menu. For example, node 214b for home delivery may be selected before node 208 b of veg-pizza.Visuphone 104 automatically generates a sequence of the selections madeby caller 106 and transmits it to the destination. Furthermore,Visuphone 104 stores the selections and the numbers dialed by the callerduring the call in association with the destination number. TheVisuphone may enable callers to search or bookmark options in a menuwith a large number of options. For example, callers can search for anode 214 b from the menu by typing ‘home delivery’. As a result,navigation of a complete visual menu may not be required.

In an embodiment of the invention, visual menu 222 b is displayed tocaller 106 when a call is received at device 102. For example, a serviceprovider may call to provide information about new services or accountof caller 106. Further, caller 106 may be required to select variousoptions based on his preferences. Visuphone 104 b may detect thereceived number and correspondingly display a visual menu to the caller.

FIG. 2C illustrates a visual menu 222 c with added graphics for thenodes. It is well known that graphics are easier to learn and are fasterto recognize than words. Therefore, graphics are used in variouscomputerized device interfaces. The exemplary graphics as shown withreference to FIG. 2C are icons. Various other types of graphics can bedisplayed for example, animated icons, icons that highlight or animatewhen the node is highlighted, and so forth.

The graphics may be displayed for each node or a few nodes based on theusability of visual menu 222 c. For example, for the node 208 can iconof a vegetable may be displayed to designate a vegetarian pizza, and forthe node 214 c of home delivery, an icon of house may be displayed. Inan embodiment of the invention, visual menu 222 c can be customized todisplay only the text, only the icons or both. Furthermore, caller 106can suggest or use various icons based on his preferences.

In an embodiment of the invention, Visuphone 104 b may provide astandard menu per group of similar audible IVR or destinations. Withreference to FIG. 2B an example of a menu at a pizza provider isdiscussed. Generally, every pizza provider may have its specific audibleIVR menu. However, caller 106 may prefer to use a single standard visualmenu for all pizza providers. Therefore, learning a single visual menuwill be useful for engaging various providers. In such a case, thedatabase may include a standard menu per class of compatible providers.Visuphone 104 b may offer caller 106 an option to use the standarddomain menu. Therefore, when caller 106 makes a selection on thestandard menu, Visuphone 104 may translate the selection to the specificaudible IVR menu selection and send the proper dialing tones to thatspecific audible IVR. Furthermore, the standard menus may be published.Therefore, various providers may modify their own menus to help theircustomers. Additional aspect of the standard menu is the use of icons asdiscussed with reference to FIG. 2C. The icons may represent standardchoice across various domains. For example, if a specific icon mayrepresent sales, then the same icon may be used for sales of airlinestickets when the destination is an airline company or sales of telephoneservice when the destination is a telephone company. In an embodiment ofthe invention, the caller may customize the icons or graphics displayedon the menu.

FIG. 3 illustrates exemplary components of device 102 a for implementingVisuphone. Device 102 a includes a system bus 324 to connect the variouscomponents. Examples of system bus 324 include several types of busstructures including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheralbus, or a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. Asdiscussed with reference to FIG. 1 a, device 102 a can be a device suchas computer, a smart-phone and so forth. Device 102 a can connect toPSTN 110 through a gateway 324, which is connected to network 112through a network interface 314. Input/Output (10) interface 316 ofdevice 102 a may be configured to connect external or peripheral devicessuch as a memory card 318, a keyboard and a mouse 320 and a UniversalSerial Bus (USB) device 322. Although not shown, various other devicescan be connected through 10 interface 316 to device 102 a. In anembodiment of the invention, device 102 a may be connected to a hub thatprovides various services such as voice communication, Internet access,television services and so forth. For example, the hub may be a HomeGateway device that acts as a hub between the home environment and theBroadband Network.

Device 102 a includes a display 302 to output graphical information tocaller 106. In an embodiment of the invention, display 302 may includesa touch sensitive screen. Therefore, caller 106 can provide inputs todevice 102 a by touching display 302 or by point and click using the‘mouse’. Memory 306 of device 102 a stores various programs, data and/orinstructions that can be executed by Central Processing Unit (CPU) 304.Examples of memory include, but are not limited to, a Random AccessMemory (RAM), a Read Only Memory (ROM), a hard disk, and so forth. Aperson skilled in the art will appreciate that other types ofcomputer-readable media which can store data that is accessible by acomputer, such as magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, digital videodisks, and the like, may also be used by device 102 a. Memory 306 mayinclude Operating System (OS) (not shown) for device 102 a to function.Further, memory 306 may include other applications 310 that enable thecaller to communication with destinations. Examples of otherapplications 310 include, but are not limited to, Skype, Google Talk,Magic Jack, and so forth. Other applications 310 may be stored assoftware or firmware on device 102 a. Further, memory 306 includesVisuphone for presenting a visual menu corresponding to the audible IVRmenu of destination as discussed with reference to FIGS. 2A, 2B and 2C.Visuphone may be an application stored as a software or firmware ondevice 102 a. The visual menus are stored in a visual menu database 308in memory 306 of device 102 a. Visuphone 104 searches visual menudatabase 308 for visual menus corresponding a phone number ofdestinations 108 a-n dialed by caller 106. Further, Visuphone 104searches visual menu database 308 for visual menus corresponding a phonenumber of a call received from a destination to caller 106.Subsequently, if the visual menu for the phone number is available inthe database, then the visual menu is displayed on display 302. Further,Visuphone 104 may be implemented as a plug-in to other applications 310.Therefore, when a phone number is dialed from other applications 310,Visuphone 104 detects the dialing of the number and automaticallydisplays the visual menu corresponding to the phone number. Thereafter,the caller can interact with the visual menu, without listening to thecomplete audible IVR menu of destinations.

With reference to FIG. 4, an exemplary display of a visual menu 406 ondevice 102 c is illustrated. The caller may dial a phone number 402corresponding to a destination using keypad 320. Keypad 320 may be aphysical keypad or a virtual keypad displayed on a touch screen display412. Subsequently, visual menu 406 corresponding to phone number 402 issearched and displayed on display 412.

In an exemplary instance, if caller dials a phone number of an IVRdestination, then a visual menu corresponding to audible IVR menu of thedestination is displayed on display 412. Similarly, if the callerreceives a call from a phone number of destination, then a visual menucorresponding to audible IVR menu of destination is displayed on display412. Thereafter, caller can interact with the visual menu to selectoptions from the audible IVR menu. Visual menu 406 may be displayedbefore actual connection of device 102 c to destinations. Therefore,caller can select a desired action from visual menu 406 beforeconnecting to destinations. In an embodiment of the invention, visualmenu 406 may be provided in real-time to caller. In an embodiment of theinvention, visual menu 406 is provided a messaging service such as aShort Messaging Service (SMS). Therefore, destinations may providecustomized visual menu 406 to caller 106. Visual menu 406 may becustomized based on the profile of caller. In an embodiment of theinvention, the profile may be generated based on access pattern ofcaller or the data capture by a hub connected to device 102 c.

Caller can interact with visual menu 406 by pressing a desired buttonfrom keypad 320. For example, caller can press a ‘5’ key from keypad 320to select a node 5 in visual menu 406. Further, caller can directlyselect the node 5 of visual menu 406 from display 412, in case of atouch sensitive screen. Depending on the complexity or size ofdestinations, visual menu 406 may have various nodes. Moreover, displayarea of display 412 may be limited or small. As a result, all the nodesof visual menu 406 may not be displayed together on display 412. In sucha case, Visuphone is configured to allow caller to navigate by scrollinghorizontally and/or vertically to view nodes on visual menu 406.Further, Visuphone may detect the capability of device 102 a beforedisplaying the visual menu. For example, in case device 102 a is a basicmobile phone with limited functionality of the display screen.Therefore, Visuphone may display the visual menu in form of a simplelist. Similarly, a list may be displayed in case of fixed linetelephones. Moreover, in case device 102 c includes a high capabilityscreen, such as but not limited to an iPhone, then the visual menu isdisplayed in form of graphics.

Subsequently, after caller selects a desired action from visual menu406, a connection is established between device 102 c and destinationsbased on the selected option. In one embodiment, Visuphone is configuredto detect and present an application or computer program available ondevice 102 c.

Visuphone can be further configured to display an advertisement 408.Advertisement 408 may correspond to the type of services provided by thedialed destinations. For example, if destination dialed is a pizzeria,then advertisement 408 may include promotions or offers about a newpizza. Moreover, advertisement 408 may include promotions or offers froma third party or a competitor of the destination. Further, Visuphone maybe coupled to an advertising database. The advertising database mayinclude advertisements related to the phone numbers of the destinations.The advertising database may be stored at device 102 c, thedestinations, service providers or other third party servers. Further,the advertisements may be provided based on a profile of caller. Forexample, assuming that the caller calls a bank holding his savingaccount. Therefore, the advertisement displayed to the caller may bebased on the location, address, account balance, type and volume oftransactions, loans, purchases and so forth.

Visuphone may be configured to connect to an intended destination, whencaller selects advertisement 408. Further, Visuphone displays visualmenu 406 of the intended destination. In an embodiment, Visuphone storesthe interactions of caller with visual menus. For example, Visuphone mayautomatically learn the numbers dialed or options selected from themenu. Moreover, the learned numbers or choices are associated with thedialed phone number of the destination. Therefore, the caller isassisted in his future calls. For example, when caller calls thedestination again, then the actions that were performed in the lastinteraction are presented prominently to caller; or a previous sequencemay be automatically performed. Further, the actions that are frequentlyperformed are presented prominently to caller. For example, if callerdials a bank frequently to enquire about his account balance, then theoptions for selecting his account balance may be highlighted.

FIG. 5 illustrates exemplary components of device 102 b for implementingVisuphone, in accordance with another embodiment of the invention.Device 102 b includes a system bus 526 to connect the variouscomponents. Examples of system bus 526 include several types of busstructures such as, but not limited to, a memory bus or memorycontroller, a peripheral bus, or a local bus using any of a variety ofbus architectures. As discussed with reference to FIG. 1 b, device 102 bcan be a computing device such as, but not limited to, a personalcomputer, a laptop, a mobile phone, a smart-phone, and so forth. Device102 b can connect to network 112 through a network interface 514.Further, device 102 b can connect to PSTN 110 through gateway 116 andnetwork 112 through network interface 514. Input/Output (10) interface516 of device 102 b may be configured to connect external or peripheraldevices such as a mouse 518, a keyboard 520, a speaker 522, microphone523 and a camera 524. Although not shown, various other devices such ashard disk, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) device or others can beconnected through 10 interface 516 to device 102 b. A person skilled theart will appreciate that although not described, various other types ofdevices capable of voice and/or data communication can be connected todevice 102 b.

Device 102 b includes a display interface 502 to connect to a display512. Display interface 502 can be for example, a video adapter. Display512 outputs graphical information to caller. In an embodiment of theinvention, display 512 includes a touch sensitive screen. Therefore,caller 106 can provide inputs to device 102 b by touching display 512 orby pointing with the mouse and click. Memory 506 of device 102 b storesvarious programs, data and/or instructions that can be executed byCentral Processing Unit (CPU) 504. Examples of memory include, but arenot limited to, a Random Access Memory (RAM), a Read Only Memory (ROM),a hard disk, and so forth. A person skilled in the art will appreciatethat other types of computer-readable media which can store data that isaccessible by a computer, such as magnetic cassettes, flash memorycards, digital video disks, and the like, may also be used by device 102b. Memory 506 may include Operating System (OS) (not shown) for device102 b to function. Further, memory 506 may include other applications510 that enable caller 106 to communication with destinations 108 a-n.Examples of other applications 510 include, but are not limited to,Skype, Google Talk, Magic Jack, and so forth. Other applications 510 maybe stored as software or firmware on device 102 b. Further, memory 506includes Visuphone 104 for searching and presenting a visual menucorresponding to the audible IVR menu of a destination as discussed withreference to FIGS. 2A and 2B. Visuphone 104 may be an application storedas a software or firmware on device 102 b. The visual menus are storedin visual menu database 308 in memory 506 of device 102 b. Visuphone 104searches visual menu database 308 for visual menu corresponding a phonenumber of a destination dialed by caller. Subsequently, the visual menuis presented on display 512 for selection of options by caller. Further,Visuphone 104 may be implemented as plug-in to other applications 510.Therefore, when a phone number is dialed from other applications 510,Visuphone 104 detects the dialing and automatically searches anddisplays the visual menu corresponding to the dialed phone number.Thereafter, caller can interact with the visual menu, without listeningto the audible IVR menu of destinations.

With reference to FIG. 6, an exemplary display of a visual menu 604 ondevice 102 b is illustrated. Caller may dial a phone number 610 from aVOIP application 608 on device 102 b. Phone number 610 may correspond toany of destinations. In an embodiment, caller selects a pre-stored phonenumber from the application 608. Subsequently, visual menu 604corresponding to a dialed destination is displayed on display 512. In anembodiment, display 512 may comprises a touch sensitive screen.Therefore, caller can interact with device 102 b directly throughdisplay 512.

In an exemplary instance, if caller 106 dials a phone number ofdestination, then a visual menu corresponding to audible IVR menu ofdestination is displayed. Thereafter, caller can interact with thevisual menu to select options and to transmit inputs for the audible IVRmenu of the corresponding destination. Visual menu 604 could bedisplayed before actual connection of device 102 b to destinations.Therefore, caller 106 can select a desired option from visual menu 604before establishing a connection to the destination. Depending on thecomplexity or size of the destinations, visual menu 604 may have variousnodes. For example, an organization with 50 departments may have moremenu options or nodes than that of an organization with 10 departments.Further, the display area of display 512 may be limited. As a result,all the nodes of visual menu 604 may not be displayed together ondisplay 512. In such a case, Visuphone 104 is configured to allow caller106 to navigate by scrolling horizontally and/or vertically to viewnodes on visual menu 604. Moreover, caller 106 can search for a desiredoption from the visual menu.

Subsequently, after caller 106 selects a desired option from visual menu604, a connection is established between device 102 b and a destinationbased on the selected action. In one embodiment, Visuphone is configuredto detect and present applications suitable to caller for initiating theconnection. For example, Visuphone may detect more than one VOIPapplications present in device 102 b and present them to caller 106 ondisplay 512. Thereafter, caller can select an application to be used orinitiate the connection in a default configuration. The defaultconfiguration can be for example, VOIP application 608 on which phonenumber 610 was dialed. In another embodiment, caller 610 may select aphone number displayed in applications such as a browser, messenger, ora mail client. Subsequently, Visuphone detects and presents applicationssuitable to caller for initiating the connection. Furthermore, Visuphoneis configured to display visual menu 604 for the phone number selectedfrom the applications.

Visuphone is further configured to display an advertisement 606.Advertisement 606 may correspond to the type of services provided bydestinations. For example, if the destination is a bank, thenadvertisement 606 may include promotions or offers about new loans orschemes. Moreover, advertisement 606 may include promotions or offersfrom a third party or a competitor of destination. Visuphone may beconfigured to connect to intended destination, when caller selectsadvertisement 606. Further, Visuphone displays visual menu 606 of theintended destination. In an embodiment, Visuphone stores theinteractions of caller with visual menus after a call to an IVR wasmade. Therefore, when caller calls the same destination again, then theoptions that were selected in the last interaction are presentedprominently. Further, the options that are frequently selected can bepresented prominently. For example, if caller dials a bank frequently tocheck his account balance, then the options for selecting his accountbalance may be highlighted. Additionally the information such hisaccount number can be brought up to save effort for the user who canthan just OK for that ‘auto fill’ to be dialed out to the IVR at theproper time.

With reference to FIG. 7, device 102 b may include a web browser 702 todisplay web pages from the Internet and/or other computer networks.Various websites provide a phone number on the web pages as aclick-to-talk button. The clickable button can provide, for example, acontact number of executives of the organization. The clickable buttonmay be programmed to display a phone number of the organization and/ordisplay a caller a form to provide his contact details, so that anexecutive from the organization can call back the caller. Visuphone isconfigured to detect a connect 706 button on a webpage 704. Connect 706may be used by Visuphone to initiate a connection to a destination.

Visuphone detects and launches a VOIP application on device 102 b. In anembodiment, in case more than one application is available on device102, Visuphone selects a VOIP application preferred by caller. Moreover,Visuphone 104 may be configured to automatically login into the VOIPapplication. In an embodiment, caller 106 stores the login details forthe VOIP application in Visuphone. Further, Visuphone displays a visualmenu corresponding to audible IVR menu of the destination connected onceclick on the connect 706 tab. Therefore, caller can connect to thedestination from web browser 702 automatically and may not be requiredto dial the phone number or provide a call-back information.

FIG. 8 illustrates exemplary software architecture 800 of Visuphone 104,in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Hardware layer 802includes various hardware of device. For example, but not limited to, amouse, a keyboard, a speaker, a microphone, a camera, a USB device, adisplay and so forth. The drivers required for the hardware of deviceare provided by drivers layer 804. Moreover, drivers layer 802interfaces with Operating System 806.

Operating System 806 provides memory and environment required byVisuphone 104 and other applications 808 for functioning on device.Examples of Operating System 806 include, but are not limited to,Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Symbian, Andriod and so forth. Visuphone 104may be implemented as a plug-in to other applications 808, such asSkype, Google Talk, web browser, mail client, and so forth. In anembodiment, Visuphone 104 may be implemented as a standalone applicationon device. Further, Visuphone 104 may be configured to execute as abackground application. Therefore, caller may not be required tospecifically launch Visuphone 104. Furthermore, Visuphone 104 may beimplemented as a multi-threaded application. Therefore, visual menus ofmore than one destination may be displayed simultaneously on device.

FIG. 9 illustrates exemplary components of Visuphone 104, in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention. As discussed above, Visuphone 104may be implemented as hardware, software, or firmware on a device.Further, Visuphone 104 may be configured to execute as a backgroundprocess on device. In an embodiment, Visuphone 104 may be configured toexecute as a system service. Therefore, other processes or applicationsexecuting on the device may not block the operation of Visuphone 104.

When caller dials, selects or receives a phone number on the device, adetection module 902 of Visuphone 104 detects that a phone number asbeen dialed, selected or received. For example, detection module 902 maydetect key presses or caller ID on device. Caller may use a VOIPapplication on device for dialing the phone number. Moreover, caller mayuse a mouse to a joystick to select or press icons of numbers displayedon the VOIP application. Further, detection module 902 is configured toidentify the VOIP applications available on device and used by caller.Moreover, detection module 902 may detect the position co-ordinates ofthe VOIP application on a display of device. For example, in case deviceincludes the Microsoft Windows OS, then the position co-ordinates of theVOIP application can be detected from the registry of the OS. Detectionmodule 902 may be configured to store the position of number iconsrelative to position co-ordinates of various VOIP applications.Therefore, based on the co-ordinates of the position of the VOIPapplication, detection module 902 can detect the exact position of eachnumber icon on the display of device. For example, if the co-ordinatesof a top-left edge of the VOIP application is (X,Y) on the display, andthe co-ordinates of an icon for number ‘1’ on VOIP application is(X1,Y1) relative to its top-left edge, then the exact co-ordinates ofthe icon for number ‘1’ may be calculated as (X+X1, Y+Y1) on thedisplay. A person skilled in the art will appreciate that other types ofmathematical operations can be applied to calculate the co-ordinates ofthe icons on the display of the device.

Detection module 902 may be configured to detect the co-ordinates of thecursor on the display of device. Further, detection module may beconfigured to detect the action events generated by the mouse orjoystick, such as a click, a double-click, drag, select, scroll and soforth. Therefore, when caller selects or press a number on the VOIPapplication, detection module 902 may detect the number from theposition of the cursor, the VOIP application and the number icon. In anembodiment, detection module 902 may be configured to store the lastused co-ordinates of the VOIP application and number icons. Therefore,detection and/or calculation of the co-ordinates may not be required.Furthermore, detection module 902 may be configured to detect a connectbutton displayed on a web page of a browser on device as explained withreference to FIG. 7. Therefore, when caller clicks the connect button,detection module 902 identifies the phone number behind the connectbutton. In an embodiment, detection module 902 detects the connectbutton and the associated phone number by scanning the source code ofthe web page.

The phone number detected by detection module 902 is used by a searchmodule 904 of Visuphone. In an embodiment, detection module 902 may beconfigured to transfer each digit to search module 904 in real-time asclicked by caller. Search module 904 searches visual menu database forvisual menu corresponding to the phone number. An exemplary visual menuis as explained above in conjunction with FIGS. 2B and 2C. As discussedabove, visual menu database stores visual menus corresponding to theaudible IVR menus of destinations. Moreover, visual menu database maystore other information, which is explained in conjunction with FIG. 10.Search module 904 may also be configured to search for other informationin visual menu database. In an embodiment, search module searches visualmenu database in real-time based on the digits received from detectionmodule 902. Therefore, a visual menu may be identified based on the bestmatch of the number formed by the received digits in visual menudatabase. As a result, caller may not be required to dial, click, pressor select the complete number, which may be convenient and time saving.

The visual menu identified by a search module 904 is displayed on thedisplay of device by display module 906 of Visuphone 104. Display module906 identifies the position on the display where the visual menu is tobe displayed. In an embodiment, the visual menu is displayed such thatthere is minimum overlap with the VOIP application from which the phonenumber was dialed or selected. Moreover, display module 906 identifiesthe size of the visual menu for display based on the characteristics ofthe display screen of device. Examples of characteristics of the displayscreen include, but are not limited to, a screen size, resolution, andso forth. Furthermore, in case the visual menu is not completelydisplayed on the display, then display module 906 may allow caller tonavigate the visual menu by scrolling. Moreover, display module 906 maybe configured to display other information received from search module904.

Caller may interact with the visual menu or other information displayedon device. For example, caller may scroll through the visual menu, orselect a node from the visual menu. Therefore, when caller selects anode from the visual menu, detection module 902 detects the selectednode and communicates the selection to a connection module 908.Thereafter, connection module 908 may establish a connection betweendevice and a destination based on the nodes selected by caller.Connection module 908 may be configured to detect communication systemsavailable in device. For example, in a case, device is a phone notconnected to the Internet, connection module 908 may detect that only aradio connection can be made. Otherwise, a most suitable or a connectionpreferred by caller can be made. In an embodiment, connection module 908may allow caller 106 to select a VOIP application to establish theconnection. In another embodiment, communication module 908 may launch adefault VOIP application on the device 102. In yet another embodiment ofthe invention, connection module 908 can use a VOIP protocol stackdefined by Visuphone to establish the connection.

Sometimes, a call of caller may be transferred from one point in theorganization to another point within the same organization or to acompletely different organization. For example, the call of caller withdestination 108 a may be transferred to destination 108 b. However,destinations 108 a and 108 b may have different audible IVR menus.Connection module 908 is configured identify the transfer of call and toswitch the visual menu of destination 108 a with destination 108 b. Theswitching of visual menus is explained in detail in conjunction withFIG. 11.

Some organizations such as banks may require caller to present a voiceinput for the purpose of authentication. For example, caller may berequired to voice out his name or an answer to a security questionspecified by caller to the bank. Furthermore, voice input may berequired to accept or decline a transaction. Caller may record and storethe voice responses for such authentications or questions alternativelythe system can use synthesis voice. Therefore, when connection module908 detects that a voice authentication is required, and then voicemodule 910 is used. Voice module 910 provides voice inputs on behalf ofcaller by using the responses recorded by caller. Subsequently, theconnection or the transaction can be processed.

As discussed in conjunction with FIGS. 4 and 6, Visuphone 104 may beconfigured to display advertisements on device 102. The advertisementsare managed by advertisement module 912 of Visuphone 104. Theadvertisement may be selected based on the type of destinations. Forexample, when a dialed destination is a bank, then an advertisementrelated to banking may be displayed. Moreover, the advertisement can berelated a third-party dealing in the same business or professional areaor a competitor of the dialed destination. The displayed advertisementmay be a text, audio, image or video. In one embodiment, advertisementmodule 912 may display the advertisements based on the connectionbandwidth available at device 102. In another embodiment, advertisementmodule 912 may display the advertisements based on the pre-setpreferences by caller. In one embodiment, advertisement module 912 maybe configured to receive the advertisements directly from the dialeddestination. In another embodiment, advertisement module 912 may beconfigured to receive the advertisements from a remote server on anetwork. The remote server is explained in detail in conjunction withFIG. 10. A selection or click by caller on advertisements may bedetected by detection module 902 to display a visual menu of thedestination for which the advertisement was displayed.

In some cases, the audible IVR menu of destination may change. Forexample, the extension numbers of agents in banks may be changed due toaddition of new agents. A person skilled in the art will appreciate thatthere can be other reasons for the audible IVR menu of a destination tobe edited, amended or updated. Further, new organizations may beavailable that use audible IVR menus. The visual menus for these neworganizations may not be available in visual menu database stored ondevice. Therefore, visual menu database may be required to be updated.In an embodiment, Visuphone may be updated to provide additionalfunctionalities to caller. Update module 914 may be configured to updatethe visual menus stored in visual menu database of device. Moreover,update module 914 may be configured to update Visuphone. Update module914 may receive the updated visual menus from the remote server on thenetwork. The remote server is explained in detail in conjunction withFIG. 10.

FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary remote server 1002 connected to aremote repository 1004. As shown remote server 2002 is connected todevice 102 through a computer network 1006. Further, remote server 1002can be connected to destinations 108 a-n through network 1006, a gateway1008, and a PSTN 1010. A person skilled in the art will appreciate thatdevice 102 can connect to destinations 108 a-n directly through PSTN1010, therefore the connection is not limited to network 1006. Each ofdestinations 108 a-n may be connected to audible IVR menu repository1012 a-n, here after referred to as destination repository 1012 a-n.

Further, device 102 includes visual menu database 308. As discussedabove, visual menu database 308 includes visual menus corresponding toaudible IVR menus of destinations 108 a-n. Moreover, visual menudatabase 308 may store other information such as profile of caller,voice response of caller, login details for a VOIP application,preferences of caller, ratings for visual menus, identity of visualmenus and so forth. As discussed in conjunction with FIG. 9, Visuphone,the visual menus or other information stored in visual menu database 308may require to be updated. In an embodiment, visual menu database 308 isupdated by information received from remote repository 1004. In anotherembodiment of the invention, visual menu database 308 may be updated byreceiving menus through Short Messaging Service (SMS). The SMS may besent from destination 108 a-n or remote repository 1004 to device 102.Remote repository 1004 includes visual menus corresponding to audibleIVR menus of destinations 108 a-n. Further, remote repository 1004stores advertisements related to destinations 108 a-n, last updated timeof the visual menus, rating of visual menus, and so forth.

In case, the audible IVR menu of a destination is changed, caller maynot be able to connect to the destination by using Visuphone. Visuphoneis configured to detect the error generated while establishing theconnection. For example, caller may select a node in the visual menuthat may not have a corresponding option available in audible IVR menu,or a connection not be established between device 102 and thedestination. The error is detected by update module 914 of Visuphone.Subsequently, update module 914 sends an error report to remote server1002. Remote server 1002 may check remote repository 1004 for updatesrelated to the visual menu. Thereafter, in case any updates areavailable, remote server 1002 may send the updates to device 102 forperforming the update. In an embodiment, visual menu database 308 may bechecked and updated based on a pre-defined time interval by the device102. In an embodiment, the error report may include the error generatedand an Identity (ID) or version of the visual menu on which the errorwas generated. In case, the updates are not available in remoterepository 1004, then an update of remote repository 1004 may berequired. In an embodiment of the invention, remote repository 1004 isupdated based on a pre-defined time interval. In another embodiment ofthe invention, the caller can rate the relevance or correctness of thevisual menu from device 102. Therefore, remote repository 1004 can beupdated based on a cumulative ratings received from callers and otherusers of the visual menu. The remote server 1002 can comprise a processof continuously scanning the IVRs 108 a to 108 n updating the remoterepository 1004 with changes of various IVR menus and adding additionmenu records for new IVRs. Also the remote server 1002 might get a‘problem report’ from device 102 if caller identify problem between themenu as it is in the database 308 and the audible menu of a specificIVR. In such case a recheck process will be initiated to update theremote repository 1004 and the new information can be than offered todevice 102 for download an update.

In an embodiment of the invention, visual menu database 308 may includeother information and parameters related to the visual menus. Theparameters related to the visual menus enable accessing, modifying orupdating of the visual menus. Examples of parameters of visual menusinclude, but are not limited to, ID or version of the visual menus,destination phone numbers, and a last update timestamp. Furthermore,visual menu database 308 may include other information such as aprofile, the calling history, or preferences of the caller. The callinghistory of a caller may include the numbers dialed or received, mostfrequent numbers dialed or received, most frequent nodes selected fromvisual menus. The profile of a caller may include, but is not limitedto, the name, age, sex, address, phone number, profession, officeaddress, recorded voice responses for visual menus, or other personaland professional details of the caller.

With reference to FIG. 11, the exemplary process for presentation of thevisual menu is illustrated when the call of a caller is forwarded ortransferred from destination 108 a to destination 108 b. Destination 108a may have completely different audible IVR menus as compared todestination 108 b. For example, destination 108 a may be a loandepartment and destination 108 b may be an insurance department of abank. Similarly, the call may be forwarded from one organization toanother. Therefore, caller may be required to respond to a differentaudible IVR menu. Visuphone 104 may be configured to detect that thecall has been forwarded and subsequently display the visual menu ofdestination 108 b.

As shown in FIG. 11, device 102 establishes a connection withdestination 108 a as depicted by arrow 1102. The connection isestablished by using the visual menu provided by Visuphone 104 based ondestination 108 a. In an embodiment, the connection is establisheddirectly without using Visuphone 104. Thereafter, destination 108 a mayforward the call to destination 108 b, as indicated by arrow 1104. Thevisual menu corresponding to the audible IVR menu of destination 108 bmay not be visible on device 102, as the call was forwarded betweendestination 108 a and destination 108 b. In an embodiment, Visuphone 104may not detect the forwarding of the call. In this case, device 102 maybe presented with audible IVR menu of destination 108 b. Thereafter,Visuphone 104 may record the options and responses on device 104 for theaudible IVR menu of destination 108 b. The recorded options andresponses may be stored at remote repository 1004 for updating it.Further, the recorded options and responses may be stored visual menudatabase of device 102.

In an embodiment, destination 108 b sends an identity (ID) or version ofthe audible IVR menu to a caller as shown by arrow 1106. The audible IVRmenu ID is specific to the audible IVR menu of destination 108 b.Subsequently, display module 906 of Visuphone 104 uses the audible IVRmenu ID to display the corresponding visual menu. Further, a caller mayselect a node from the visual menu corresponding to destination 108 b.Therefore, when a caller selects a node, a connection may be establishedwith destination 108 b. In an embodiment of the invention, connectionbetween device 102 and destination 108 a is disconnected afterestablishing a connection between device 102 and destination 108 b. Inanother embodiment of the invention, connection between device 102 anddestination 108 a is maintained for complete communication session tillthe caller disconnects the call.

Another embodiment of the invention allow visual menu for calls madefrom a conventional home telephone. FIG. 12 illustrate a phone 1204connected to a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) 1208 and througha gateway 1218 to the Internet network 1220. Network 1220 may be anyservice provider that provides services, for example, but not limitedto, telephone services, cell phone services, wireless services, Internetservices, cable television services, or various combinations of theabove or other type of services.

Further, the connection to network 1220 is associated with a wide bandInternet ‘smart’ modem 1206. Phone 1204 may be a regular phone, such asa landline phone or a cordless landline phone. Modem 1206 may be aDigital Subscriber Link (DSL)modem or a cable modem that connects thehome device to the Internet and/or computer network. Modem 1206 isconnected to a service provider, and can provide the home devices withtelephone, Internet and television services. Modem 1206 may provide bothwired and wireless connections. As shown with reference to FIG. 12,modem 1206 provides the home with the Internet through wire 1210 to acomputer 1202, or through a Wi-Fi connection. Modem 1206 comprises theability to detect and recognize the dialing made by phone 1204. Thenumbers dialed by phone 1204 to establish connection are then comparedwith a database, such as visual menu database 308. Therefore, in casethe dialed number corresponds to a destination with an audible IVR menu,and a corresponding visual menu exists then, modem 1206 may provide thevisual menu on computer 1202 connected to it. Moreover, modem 1206 mayuse private web sites to present the visual menu or just provide thedialed number to computer 1202. Thereafter, a software tool on computer1202 may present the visual menu on the screen of computer 1202.

Once the connection with the destination has been established, ‘smart’modem 1206 will continue to monitor the numbers dialed or received byphone 1204 to browse or advance the visual menu accordingly.Furthermore, the numbers dialed or received may be stored for futureprocessing such as highlighting previous selections in the visual menu,providing customized visual menu and so forth. The Visual menu systemcomprising computer 1202 and Modem 1206 may incorporate additionalenhancements as presented before such as automatic dialing of customerinformation. The automatic dialing may be achieved by using computer1202 to initiate and execute such automatic dialing.

In another embodiment of the invention, a house television 1212 may beused to present the visual menu. In various houses modem 1206 decodestelevision signals and transfer it to a set-top box 1216 that providesignals to television 1212. The visual menu may be presented on achannel dedicated for IVR. Therefore, when phone 1204 is used toinitiate a call, modem 1206 can detect it and present the visual menucorresponding to the dialed number on the designated channel of thetelevision 1212. Further, all the options described before can beprovided now using the screen of television 1212 for the visual menu.The caller selection can be done by using the simple home phone oralternatively using the TV 1212 set top box 1216 remote control.Further, television 1212 screen may be used to present the visual menuin a few alternatives ways. For example, a device provided by a companynamed Roku Inc., allows streaming of content from the Internet totelevision. Most set-top boxes now have an Internet connection ortelephone connections. Furthermore, various devices such as some DigitalVersatile Disc (DVD) players, and video game players or controllers suchas Xbox or Playstation, can be connected to the Internet. Each of thosedevices may allow ‘smart’ modem 1206 to provide a visual menu on thescreens of television 1212.

In another embodiment of the invention a telephone connection may beestablished through an external telephone service by using a computer,as discussed with reference to FIG. 13. External telephone serviceprovider 1310, such as ‘Google Voice’, which a user may use through theInternet network from computer 1302. In such case, the user can cause atelephone call to be established by indicating on service provider1310—‘Google Voice’ web site a request to establish call to a designatedlocation. Thereafter, the external service provider 1310 establishesconnection 1306 by using PSTN 1308 to connect the user telephone 1304 toa desired destination 1312. External service provider 1310 can nowpresent the visual menu as discussed above. External service provider1310 may present the visual menu on its web site and processed oradvanced based on the dial choices made by the user on his computer1302. Furthermore, external service provider 1310 can also add variousoptions as described before, such as but not limited to highlightingprevious choices, automatic dialing of user information and presentingrelated advertisements.

Another enhancement for such external service provider 1310 is toprovide a ‘smart’ connect. In case of the ‘smart’ connect, the user candesignate not just destination 1312, but a specific node of visual menu,such as node 212 b as discussed with reference to FIG. 2B. The ‘smart’connect will dial the proper selection in the visual menu and connect tonode 212 b of the audible IVR. The ‘smart’ connect can even wait untilthe selected node ‘Talk to Executive’ yields the desired result of theexecutive answering the line and then connect the user. Therefore, theefficiency of the IVR system does not come at the cost of inefficiencyof the user, rather both sides can became more efficient by using the‘smart’ connect.

Additional alternatives to the invention are illustrated with referenceto FIGS. 14A, 14B, and 14C. FIG. 14A illustrates a Visu-Add-on 1404which can be connected to a standard home phone 1402 to provide all thefeatures and functionalities as described above with respect to theVisuphone 104. Accordingly, phone 1402 may be connected throughconnection 1406 to add-on 1404 that can be connected to a standardtelephone connection line 1410. Add-on 1404 may comprise a processingunit, a display and a database. The database may be similar to visualmenu database 308 as discussed in FIG. 3. Therefore, when phone 1402 isused to call a destination with an audible IVR menu, a correspondingvisual menu is presented on the display of add-on 1404. Furthermore, thedisplay of add-on 1404 may comprise a touch sensitive screen for addedconvenience of a user. Add-on 1404 may be loaded and updated by the useof removable memory devices, such as USB flash memory 1408.Alternatively, Add-on 1404 may comprise a modem to connect either by theuse of the telephone connection line 1410 or by wireless means such asWiFi or Bluetooth.

FIG. 14B illustrates an embodiment, where an add-on unit 1414 is pluggedinto a conventional digital picture frame 1420 by using a USB port.Digital picture frames recently became quite popular as a convenient wayto display family photos in digital format. In this embodiment, pictureframe 1420 can display family photo until a call is made by using aphone 1412 to a destination with an audible IVR menu. Phone 1412 may beconnected to picture frame 1420 through a connection 1418 and add-on1414 may be further connected to standard telephone line connection1422. Add-on 1414 may comprise a processor and a database. The databasemay be similar to visual menu database 308 as discussed in FIG. 3.Therefore, when a connection is made to a destination having an audibleIVR menu, then add-on 1414 will present the visual menu on picture frame1420. Picture frame 1420 may resume presenting the photos after thecompletion of the call. Furthermore, the database of add-on 1414 couldbe updated with one of the options described before in respect to theadd-on 1404 of FIG. 14A. It should be noted that various home televisionprovides functionality similar to picture frame 1420. Therefore,television can be used as an alternative to picture frame 1420.

FIG. 14C present another embodiment that can be applied as presentedwith respect to FIGS. 14A and 14B. It quite common these days to use atelephone handset 1424 that are connected by wireless means to a basestation 1430 that is connected by a wire 1432 to the standard telephonelines. Add-on 1426 can comprise an internal radio circuit to detect thewireless communication. Therefore, add-on 1426 can detect thecommunication between handset 1424 and base station 1430 to present thevisual menu. As can be seen with reference to FIG. 14C, connectionthrough wires such as wires 1406 or 1418 may not be required. Add-on1426 may be provided by the manufacturer of the handset 1424 and thebase station 1430, or by a third party. A person skilled in the art willappreciate that the functionalities of the add-on units as described inconjunction with FIGS. 14A, 14B and 14C can be combined into a singleunit. Therefore, a single add-on unit may be used in variousenvironments as discussed above.

FIGS. 15A, 15B, and 15C illustrate a flowchart diagram for presentationof the visual menus, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.Caller 106 may dial, select or receive a number to connect to adestination from device 102. The destination may include an audible IVRmenu for interaction with a caller. Further, device 102 may includeVisuphone 104 to present a visual menu corresponding to the phone numberof the destination. Therefore, a caller can directly interact with anIVR of destination through the visual menu without listening to theaudible IVR menu.

At step 1502, Visuphone such as of device 102 detects a phone numberdialed, selected or received by caller for destination. In an embodimentof the invention, the number is clicked according to the display ofdevice 102. The number is detected by detection module 902 of Visuphone104. Thereafter, search module 904 searches visual menu database 308 ofdevice 102 for the phone number, at step 1504. Search module 904searches for visual menu and other information corresponding to thephone number. Other information may include, for example, the callerprofile, call history of the caller, advertisement associated with thephone number and so forth. In an embodiment of the invention, searchmodule 904 searches visual menu database 308 in real-time. Therefore,the visual menu and other information may be searched with only a fewdigits of the phone number.

At step 1506, it is determined by search module 904 whether the visualmenu and other information are available for the phone number in visualmenu database 308. In case, the visual menu is available, then theprocess continues to step 1508. In case, the visual menu is notavailable, then device 102 may be connected to remote repository 1104 byupdate module 914, at step 1518 as shown with reference to FIG. 15B.Thereafter, it is checked whether the visual menu is available in remoterepository 1104, at step 1520. Subsequently, if the visual menu isavailable, then visual menu database 308 is updated from the informationavailable at remote repository 1104, at step 1522. The process tencontinues to step 1524.

In case, the visual menu is not available in remote repository 1104,then the process continues to step 1528. At step 1528, audible IVR menuselection in detected on device 102. The audible IVR menu selection maybe determined based on Dual Tone Multi Frequency (DTMF) tones or keyspressed by the user of device 102. Thereafter, in case a selection isdetected, then the dialed number may be detected as a possibledestination number. The dialed number may be provided to remoterepository 1104 at step 1530. Thereafter, the process continues to step1526, where remote repository 1104 is updated for information.

At step 1524, it is determined by search module 904 if visual menu isavailable for the dialed number in updated visual menu database 308. Inan embodiment, Visuphone detects the correctness of information based onthe error received on connection to the IVR destination or behavior ofthe caller. In case, visual menu is available, then the processcontinues to step 1508. Otherwise, in case the visual menu is notavailable, then the process continues to step 1526, where remoterepository 1104 is updated for information. In an embodiment, Visuphone104 sends an error report to remote repository 1104 to initiate theupdate. The error report may include the error details of connection,behavior of the caller and other information required to update remoterepository 1104. In another embodiment, the caller may provide ratingsfor the correctness of the visual menu and other information.Subsequently, the ratings are sent to remote repository 1104. In anembodiment of the invention, ratings from multiple devices are receivedat remote repository 1104. Thereafter, remote repository 1104 may beupdated based on the ratings. In an embodiment of the invention, remoterepository 1104 may be updated based on a pre-defined time interval. Inanother embodiment of the invention, remote repository 1104 is updatedby an administrator of remote server 1102.

At step 1508, if the visual menu is available in visual menu database,then the visual menu corresponding to the audible IVR menu ofdestination is displayed on device 102. In an embodiment of theinvention, advertisements related to the type of destination are alsodisplayed on device 102. At step 1510, inputs from the caller aredetected on the visual menu. In an embodiment, the inputs include thenodes of the visual menu selected by the caller. In another embodiment,the inputs include the advertisement selected by the caller.Subsequently, device 102 is connected to destination based on the inputsprovided by the caller, at step 1512. At step 1514, it is determined ifthe visual menu displayed on device 102 is correct. In case, the visualmenu is not correct, then the process continues to step 1518.Thereafter, the processes steps as discussed above are followed.However, in case the visual menu is correct, then the connection betweendevice 102 and destination is maintained, at step 1516. Moreover,further inputs from the caller are received, to continue thecommunication till the caller or destination disconnects the connection.

FIG. 16 illustrates a flowchart diagram for generating a database forvisual menus, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Theaudible IVR menus of destinations may be analyzed to generate a databasefor corresponding visual menus. At step 1602, a phone number may bedialed to connect to an audible IVR menu of destination. The phonenumbers and destinations may be selected from a database of phonenumbers. For example, yellow pages for a selected territory, category,business or other suitable classifications. As discussed with referenceto FIG. 2A, the audible IVR menu may include various options for a userto select. Typically, the options are structured and presented in formof levels to the user. For example, with reference to FIG. 2A, options204 a, 206 a, and 220 a may form a first level of the audible IVR menu222 a. Further, options 208 a and 210 a may be referred to as sub-menusto option 204 a. Similarly, each sub-menu may further comprisesub-menus, such as options 214 a and 216 a. Therefore, the user ispresented with audible instructions at first level. Thereafter, based onthe selection from the user, corresponding audible instructions ofsub-menus may be provided. The first level of the audible IVR menu isanalyzed at step 1604. The audible IVR menu may be analyzed by voicerecognition.

In an embodiment of the invention, the voice recognition forconstructing the database is based on context-enhanced voicerecognition. As the process of calling the destination is initiated byselecting a number from a list such as yellow pages, the voicerecognition system has base knowledge of the business domain and thepotential options such destinations may offer. Therefore, the process ofvoice recognition is greatly enhanced, when the recognition is done withrespect to a relatively small number of choices. The voice recognitionsystem may be pre-loaded with a small set of terms most likely used bythe destination and, therefore, may be required to make the recognitionout of the relatively small set of terms.

Further, the voice may be converted to a text format. In an embodimentof the invention, a voice-to-text application may be used to convert theaudible instructions to text format. Subsequently, the informationgenerated from the analysis of the first level is stored in a database,at step 1606. The information may include the details about the sub-menuand the numbers to be dialed to access the sub-menu. For example, withreference to FIG. 2A, the information for option 204A may include,instruction part ‘pizza order’ and number part ‘2’ in the database. Atstep 1608, it is determined whether there are any sub-menus in theaudible IVR menu. The sub-menus may be detected based on the informationanalyzed from the audible IVR menu. In an embodiment of the invention,sub-menus are detected based on the information stored in the database.In case the audible IVR menu contains sub-menus, then the sub-menus areanalyzed, at step 1610. The sub-menus may be analyzed in a similarmanner as the first level of audible IVR menu as discussed above.Subsequently, at step 1612, the information corresponding to thesub-menus is stored in the database. At step 1614, it is determinedwhether there are any further sub-menus in the sub-menus of the audibleIVR menu. In case, there are further sub-menus then each sub-menu isanalyzed as discussed above. The process is iterated till the completeaudible IVR menu with the sub-menus is analyzed. Further, thedestinations may be dialed multiple times to ensure that completeaudible IVR menu and sub-menus are analyzed. Moreover, the database maybe automatically checked and verified after complete analysis of theaudible IVR menu. For example, all or various options or sub-menus inthe audible IVR menu may be selected randomly or based on a pre-definedpattern to verify the information in the database.

In an embodiment of the invention, the database construction system maybe use quality marks for every term recognized by the system. Forexample, low mark may indicate relatively higher probability that therecognition was wrong. Further, follow-up steps may provide higherpriority to check and validate the terms that received low marks. Suchcheck may be performed by an additional automatic system or by humanoperators.

In an embodiment of the invention relate to the construction of the menudatabase in respect to IVR that ask voice commands rather that suggestmenu. The database construction process for such IVR need to bemodified. One alternative is to apply two-phase process. The first phaseis to construct a standard menu for the class of the destinations thespecific IVR relate to. This phase could be extended to cover as manydomain as possible so a standard menu exist for most destinations. Inphase two the IVR that expect a natural language voice command isinterrogated by repetitively applying the standard menu and confirmingits relevance for the specific IVR. In the process for each selection astored voice or synthesis voice could be use for each menu option. Onceconfirmed it will be stored accordingly in the remote repository 1004.In some case, the IVR may be guided by natural language commands or dialtones. In such case both option could be made available in the remoterepository 1004 and eventually for the caller at time of use.

In an embodiment of the invention, IVR destination may be connectedautomatically through various probe servers to analyze the audible IVRmenus. The probe may be implemented as a script, a computer program, orfirmware, on remote server 1002, as shown with reference to FIG. 10.Further, the audible IVR menus may be analyzed by human operators, incase of malfunction or other issues with the automatic functioning.

Additional advantage of the invention relates to callers who are moreproficient in foreign language. The remote repository 1004 may providethe visual menu in multiple languages. A user can than choose a languageof his choice and download to his device database the menu in thatlanguage.

Yet another advantage of the invention relates to IVR that ask for voicecommands. This IVR interface is for some user harder to use due toaccent or other problems. The database could be provided with the optionas been described before for the system to output voice commandaccording to caller selection of the menu options.

In an embodiment of the invention, the database containing theinformation for visual menus may be remote repository 1004. In anotherembodiment of the invention, the database may be connected to remoterepository 1004. The database may be updated automatically based on apre-defined update time interval. The update may be required to validatethe correctness of information in the database. Moreover, the databasemay be updated based on ratings from users of Visuphone. For example, auser may identify that a visual menu incorrect or incomplete, and maysubsequently provide a rating to the visual menu. Further, anadministrator or user of the database may update the database manually.In an embodiment of the invention, the information regarding the audibleIVR menu may be provided by the destinations for download. Therefore,the audible IVR menu may be downloaded and analyzed. In an embodiment ofthe invention, the database may be generated by Visuphone 104.

Embodiments of the invention are described above with reference to blockdiagrams and schematic illustrations of methods and systems according toembodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each block ofthe diagrams and combinations of blocks in the diagrams can beimplemented by computer program instructions. These computer programinstructions may be loaded onto one or more general purpose computers,special purpose computers, or other programmable data processingtranslator to produce machines, such that the instructions which executeon the computers or other programmable data processing translator createmeans for implementing the functions specified in the block or blocks.Such computer program instructions may also be stored in acomputer-readable memory that can direct a computer or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readablememory produce an article of manufacture including instruction meansthat implement the function specified in the block or blocks.

While the invention has been described in connection with what ispresently considered to be the most practical and various embodiments,it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to thedisclosed embodiments, but on the contrary, is intended to cover variousmodifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit andscope of the appended claims. The invention has been described in thegeneral context of computing devices, phone and computer-executableinstructions, such as program modules, being executed by a computer.Generally, program modules include routines, programs, characters,components, data structures, etc., that perform particular tasks orimplement particular abstract data types. A person skilled in the artwill appreciate that the invention may be practiced with other computersystem configurations, including hand-held devices, multiprocessorsystems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics,network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like. Further,the invention may also be practiced in distributed computing worldswhere tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linkedthrough a communications network. In a distributed computing world,program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storagedevices.

This written description uses examples to disclose the invention,including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in theart to practice the invention, including making and using any devices orsystems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scopethe invention is defined in the claims, and may include other examplesthat occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intendedto be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elementsthat do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if theyinclude equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differencesfrom the literal languages of the claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An enhanced telephone system, forinteraction with interactive voice response system, comprising: meansfor accessing a database for comparing a dialed phone number to aplurality of phone numbers present in the database, and retrieving aninteractive voice response menu associated with said phone number,wherein the database is not an IVR service provider database, thedatabase containing information of multiple IVR service providersdatabases associated by their phone numbers; means for reformatting saidinteractive voice response menu into a standard menu, and displayingsaid standard menu in a visual interactive voice response menu, whereinsaid interactive voice response menu corresponds to a specific serviceprovider and said standard menu is different from said interactive voiceresponse menu, and wherein said standard menu represents a group ofmenus corresponding to a plurality of IVR providers related to a singlebusiness class; means for displaying said visual interactive voiceresponse menu on a touch sensitive screen, wherein the visualinteractive voice response menu comprising one or more interactive voiceresponse menu options, wherein said visual interactive voice responsemenu is displayed before establishing a connection with a destination ofthe dialed phone number, and wherein the touch sensitive screenconfigured to provide activation of at least one of said interactivevoice response menu options by touch, and wherein said touch representsa choice of a user; and means for storing said choice made by said usercorresponding to said interactive voice response menu options forassisting said user in future calls.
 2. The telephone system of claim 1,wherein the interactive voice response menu comprises an icon for atleast one of said interactive voice response menu options.
 3. Thetelephone system of claim 1, wherein the interactive voice response menucomprises graphical representation of one or more audible interactivevoice response menus associated with the dialed phone number.
 4. Thetelephone system of claim 1 further comprising dialing a phone numberthrough a PSTN phone network and establishing a connection to theinternet through an Internet data network.
 5. The telephone system ofclaim 1 further comprising means for advancing the displayed interactivevoice response menu based on selection of said interactive voiceresponse menu options.
 6. The telephone system of claim 1 furthercomprising: means for detecting that a connection is established to saiddialed phone number; and means for storing one or more numbers dialedafter said connection is established.
 7. The telephone system of claim1, wherein the telephone system also comprising means for transmittingone or more stored voice responses.
 8. A VOIP equipped computer systemfor interaction with interactive voice response system comprising: meansfor identifying generation of a VOIP call to a dialed phone number;means for accessing a database and comparing the dialed phone number toa plurality of phone numbers present in the database, wherein thedatabase is not an IVR service provider database, the databasecontaining information of multiple service providers databasesassociated by their phone numbers; means for displaying a visualinteractive voice response menu, comprising one or more menu options,based on the comparison; wherein the visual interactive voice responsemenu is displayed before establishing a connection with a destination ofthe dialed phone number, and wherein the visual interactive voiceresponse menu is selected from a set of different menus to represent theright menu based on the time of the day; means for enabling a user toselect at least one of said one or more menu options; and means forstoring said user's selection for assisting said user in future VOIPcalls.
 9. The computers system of claim 8 further comprising a touchsensitive screen configured to provide activation of at least one ofsaid menu options by touch.
 10. The computer system of claim 8, whereinthe menu comprises an icon for at least one of said menu options. 11.The computer system of claim 8 further comprising means for transmittingone or more stored voice responses.
 12. The computer system of claim 8further comprising means for advancing the displayed menu based onselection of said menu options.
 13. The computer system of claim 8further comprising: means for detecting that a connection was made tosaid dialed phone number; and means for storing one or more numbersdialed after said connection is made, wherein said storing associatessaid numbers with said dialed phone number.
 14. A communication system,for interaction with interactive voice response system, comprising: atelephone for generating a call to a dialed phone number; a computerhaving a computer screen, wherein a visual interactive voice responsemenu comprising one or more menu options is displayed on said computerscreen based on said dialed phone number, wherein said telephone is notdirectly connected to said computer, and wherein the visual interactivevoice response menu is displayed before establishing a connection with adestination of the dialed phone number; means for presenting the visualinteractive voice response menu in a different language from theoriginal interactive voice response system; means for enabling a user toselect at least one menu option from said one or more menu options,wherein selection of said at least one menu option represents a user'schoice; and means for storing said user's choice for assisting said userin future calls.
 15. The communication system of claim 14, wherein saidcomputer screen is a touch screen.
 16. The communication system of claim14, wherein said menu comprises at least one icon.
 17. The communicationsystem of claim 14 further comprising means for transmitting one or morestored voice responses.
 18. The communication system of claim 14 furthercomprising means for advancing the displayed menu based on selection ofsaid menu options.
 19. The communication system of claim 14 furthercomprising means for storing numbers dialed after said call isgenerated.
 20. The communication system of claim 14 further comprisingmeans for presenting a standard menu as a visual interactive voiceresponse menu, wherein the standard menu represents a group of menuscorresponding to a plurality of IVR providers related to a singlebusiness class.